5/30/2013 @ 12:03PM. Since the crypto-currency Bitcoin hit the limelight, many libertarians and privacy advocates have heralded it as anonymous, digital cash. But the world’s biggest Bitcoin exchange–and the U.S. regulators breathing down its neck–see things differently.
On Thursday Mt. Gox announced that it would begin requiring “verification” for all accounts seeking to deposit or withdraw currencies other than Bitcoin, a measure that means users would need to submit government identification and a utility bill or information about the company they work for to trade Bitcoins for traditional money, in effect ending anonymous use of the service.
“The Bitcoin market continues to evolve, as do regulations and conditions of compliance for Mt. Gox to continue bringing secure services to our customers,” reads a statement on Mt. Gox’s site. “It['s] our responsibility to provide a trusted and legal exchange, and that includes making sure that we are operating within strict anti-money laundering rules and preventing other malicious activity.”
The new restrictions from Mt. Gox–which controls well over half of all Bitcoin trades–comes on the heels of an online currency crackdown. An indictment unsealed earlier in the week against Liberty Reserve, another digital currency service, alleged that it engaged in $6 billion worth of money laundering through its anonymity-friendly payment system. - Read more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/05/30/not-so-anonymous-bitcoin-exchange-mt-gox-tightens-identity-requirement
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Not So Anonymous: Bitcoin Exchange Mt. Gox Tightens Identity Requirement
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It had to come...its the nature of big government...absolute power corrupts absolutely!
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